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A Dash of Walmart: Walmart is working on technology that could allow it to counter the Amazon Dash in-home button ordering device, reports Progressive Grocer, citing a Walmart patent application from last year. The patent application would integrate networking technology into the actual product, enabling automatic reordering when supplies run low, which would be easier by degree than the Amazon Dash button, which requires the user to know when a certain product, such as toilet paper or dishwasher pads are running low, then pushing a button to reorder (although Amazon is working with some appliance makers to eliminate this step). The Walmart tags would use a mix of technology depending on the product, including Bluetooth, radio frequency, infrared, Near Field Communication and other wireless communication options. The Walmart tags could also track usage and pace of refills, expiration dates and recalls, as well as obtain data for marketing. Walmart's patent filings also describe augmented reality glasses to guide customers through stores and to produce an automated shopping list, reports Progressive Grocer, adding other patents mention drones to move products around stores or monitor the freshness of produce.
Vehicles sit parked outside a Wal-Mart Stores Inc. location in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S., on Friday, May 15, 2015. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is expected to release first-quarter earnings results before the opening of U.S. financial markets on May 19. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg
Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg
Big hack in Germany: Hackers have exploited a telco network vulnerability to intercept and reroute the two-factor verification codes that authorize some payments at German banks. O2 researchers found that any party with internal access to a telco can log into a third party network to track and reroute messages, Finextra reports. O2 has found that some German consumers have had accounts drained after phishing scams that harvested their user names, passwords, phone numbers and bank account details. After stealing this information, the hackers intercepted the mobile transaction authorization numbers and redirected the sessions to their own phones. Finextra suggests the hack demonstrates a general weakness in using SMS codes as a verification method, since the weakness in the signaling system used for the authorization codes has been known for about three years.
Tech companies slam potential Euro screen scraping ban: The revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) is generally seen as a challenge for banks, as it's designed to accommodate the entry of alternative payment and financial services companies into the European market. But there's one provision that has angered technology companies. A group of about 60 financial technology companies are joining together to protest a PSD2 ban on screen scraping, or gathering data from online banking interfaces, according to BadBlueMoney. The PSD2 standards say banks can deny user interface access if the bank is already offering an application programming interface to share customer data with third party technology companies under PSD2 protocols. But the financial technology companies contend the ban in screen scraping will give banks too much control over what kinds of data is shared, giving banks an unfair advantage and hindering financial innovation in Europe.
Singapore payment investor player adds Lithuania: One of the payment startups to come out of the hot Singapore technology market, Senjo Group, is quickly expanding into Europe. Senjo, which focuses on payments and invests in local startups, has acquired JSC Finolita Unio, which has a payments license from the Bank of Lithuania, BitcoinNews reports. That license enables the company establish inroads in Eastern Europe and Russia, which would enable Senjo to expand into these areas as well. Senjo already owns 19 companies globally that combine financial technology and digital payments, including subsidiaries in Japan, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, India, the U.K., Luxembourg and the U.S.
ExxonMobil Launches Apple Watch Support in 'Speedpass+' iOS App MacRumors • Mitchel Broussard ExxonMobil this week announced an update to its Speedpass+ iOS app, which gives users the ability to pay for fuel and car washes using their Apple Watch and Apple Pay at over 10,000 participating Exxon and Mobil refueling stations across the United...
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